SES 5.6 Carbon Wheelset

Adding to its illustrious lineup of SES wheels, ENVE Composite's SES 5.6 Carbon Wheelset slots in nicely when you want something that’s a touch more aero than the 4.5 but you don't want to go in whole hog with the 7.8. Already a staple in its disc brake wheel lineup, the rim brake going 5.6 gives you an aero package proven in the wind tunnel and on race courses, with a lightweight build and the still pro's favorite choice of running rim calipers. With its molded in brake track featuring its latest heat-resistant resins, you'll have such control and excellent modulation in both wet and dry conditions you'll wonder what all this fuss about disc brakes is about. And while we're not quite sure how much begging its sponsored WorldTour Team Dimension Data, or its legion of faithful triathletes had to do before this wheelset became a reality, we're betting we'll see a lot more or these wheels under some of the world fastest athletes in the near future.

This all-new rim is slightly deeper than it's ever-popular 4.5, smoothing airflow and reducing turbulence which creates less drag, allowing you to go faster with less effort. As much as outright speed developed the profile of the rim, ENVE didn't forget that most folks ride outside the wind tunnel and as such, optimized its shaping to help increase stability in both steady and blustery wind conditions for confident handling and predictable descending. It also took the opportunity to accommodate the current trend towards larger volume road tires (it's optimized for 25mm rubber) and build compatibility with road tubeless or traditional clincher setups, so you don't have to save these excellent hoops for race day use only, you can train on them as well.

As with the rest of ENVE's SES line, the 5.6 rims aren't subjected to static, arbitrary NACA shapes. Instead, the engineers let each wheel's location dictate the ideal depth, width, and profiling in order to reduce lateral forces and increase aerodynamic benefits across a wide range of yaw angles. This approach is apparent in everything from the rim's rounded spoke face up front to a more V-shaped profile in the rear to the different depths and widths seen on the front and rear wheels. SES takes the shallower, more stable front wheel and deep, aerodynamic rear wheel philosophy to its logical extreme.

As the SES name implies, these wheels are built using the Smart ENVE System to create a rim that's as strong and stable as it is aerodynamic. ENVE wheels enjoy the reputation of having one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios in the industry because of a jealously guarded process of molding in spoke holes, nipple seats, and valve stem holes rather than drilling them after the fact. ENVE routes the carbon fibers around each hole to maintain continuous fiber integrity, which results in both increased rim rigidity and lower weight versus the industry standard of drilling the holes post-curing which cuts and abrades the carbon fiber.

When laced to one of our favorite hub models, DT Swiss' 240s, this system facilitates higher, more uniform spoke tension than standard constructions and drilling. ENVE is also able to remove the inner bladder once the molding process is complete, which results in a lower overall weight and better wheel balance than processes that leave the bladder in place. This is a lengthy and costly extra step, but it results in a wheel that spins smoother and is significantly lighter than it would be if the bladder was left inside.